IOA & US for 3 1/2 & 6 yr Olds?

[micnmin]

I need help please. My DH is insisting that we take our two DS's to IOA & US. I am not sure if at their age there will be much to do at these parks for them. It sounds to me like IOA has more for them. I haven't been to US in about 7 years and from what I remember there's not much for their age. Any thoughts? Please help!

Thanks!

 

[nhrenee]

I think you'll be pleasantly surpised, especially if it's warm enough to get wet when you visit.

At UNIVERSAL there is an area called Woody Woodpecker Kidzone. It contains, ET-the ride, Animal planet show, Barney show, Barney's backyard (a GREAT indoor educational interative play area for young kids, go while a barney show is in progress and it will be empty), Curious George wet play area, Dry ball play area and Fievel's water slide(your 3 1/2 yr old might be too young for this but there some interactive play things nearby).

Also, there is an attraction called the Hanna-Barberra ride. You may have to sit on a stationary seat with the youngest but the 6 yr old can sit in the moving seats.

There's is Nickleodean (sp?) studios but I've heard mixed reviews on that. My 5 year old rode Jaws but probably wouldn't want to go again.

At ISLAND OF ADVENTURE there is:
All of Seuss Land with it's rides and street show,

Lost Continent has the talking fountain (just a regular fountain but it's very humorous), The Sinbad show: very funny corny stunt type show;has some loud bangs.

Jurrassic Park has the Unicorn Rollercoaster (bigger than a kiddie coaster but still small, not sure of min heighth), Discovery Center, Triceratops encounter and Camp discovery (a play area with caves and bridges, cool). Also in that area is a ride call (SP?) Pteranadon flyers but it is not worth a long wait, because the ride itself is so short.

Toon Lagoon: Me ship, the Olive is a interactive play area and this whole area has some eye popping colors most kids really enjoy. I believe this area has a stadium show and defenitely a toon trolley street show. the characters sing and dance and sign autographs or pose for pictures.

Marvel Super Hero: There are characters on the street (on and off) like Spiderman,Dr Doom, Captain America, etc. There is a tea cup like ride here call Storm Force.

I'm sure there are other things that I've missed. Baby swap is available on all the big rides too. Don't miss Spiderman-the ride!! If you think you might use that option you might want to think of bringing the 2way radios. They worked great for us.

Good luck!

 

[alanvines]

my experience is 3 yrs old is a little young for universal they love mk, but universal is for bigger kids at 5 or so however, universal starts to be their favorite park (or parks) us and ioa are very cool, but i've always thought they were for kids just a little older than 3

 

[micnmin]

nhrenee

Thanks for your very detailed answer. It will definitely help us to make our decision. I think we are set on trying IOA, but are still up the air about US. Thanks again for all of the info.

alanvines

Thanks for your input. It is much appreciated. I'm kind of thinking our 3 year old and I will be looking at the scenery a bit while my dh and other ds have some fun, but as I said we are going to try IOA for sure. Thanks.

Micnmin

 

[sha_lyn]

They can do most of the things at US but will enjoy IOA more in my opinion. My 3 1/2 DD did love the ET ride in US, and the Barney show but just tolerated most fo the other things (jaws scarred her but Kongfrontation did not, that one still makes no sense to me), just now I asked her what she liked the most and she said the unicorn coaster but she will probably answer it differently tomorrow.

 

[nhrenee]

Your welcome! Try to let us know how things went when you return.

Have a great trip.